NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — For all of the holiday season, lights will be shining bright in the lobby of The Roosevelt Hotel.
WGNO’s Kenny Lopez explains how the hotel’s decorations have become a must-see for families during the holidays.
Nearly 40 trees with more than 100,000 twinkly lights, 4,000 glass ornaments and 1,600 square feet of garland illuminate The Roosevelt Hotel.
“It kind of takes your breath away, I’d say. The hotel is really transformed at Christmas. Above you shines on the floor. All the trees have reflective ornaments,” said Theresa Truxillo.
Truxillo and her family always stop by The Roosevelt Hotel during the holidays.
“We like to come here and take pictures and pretend like it is snowing, because it doesn’t really snow here,” she said.
The Roosevelt’s been decorating its lobby for Christmas since the 1930s. Then, in 2009, it took it up a notch.
“Post-Katrina we changed the decor. We wanted to make it more elegant,” said General Manager of The Roosevelt Hotel Tod Chambers.
Chambers went on to say, “We want people to come in. We want people to feel like they are part of a great place.”
Chambers said a lot of work goes into decorating the hotel for the holidays.
“Literally an army of people. It takes them about a week to put decor up in the hotel. When I say an army, it’s probably 30 or 40 people working to get these things all put up,” Chambers said.
Hung with care for all to share.
“It is the most Instagrammable place in the city,” Chambers said.
If you’d like to bring a little bit of The Roosevelt Hotel home with you for the holidays, this year, the hotel has a limited-edition Christmas ornament made with 24-karat gold, produced by the same company that makes the White House ornaments.
“If you’re having a bad day, walk down to the lobby, and watch the faces of people walking into the hotel,” Chambers said.
The Roosevelt Hotel lobby lighting is at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis will flip the switch.
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